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WEB-ACCESSIBILITY WORKSHOP

The Internet has transformed society. From e-commerce to
e-education, and e-health to e-government, the digital revolution
is altering our lives. The Web offers unprecedented opportunities
to communicate and interact. Social media sites, such as
Facebook, have spawned virtual communities across the globe
and sites like Wikipedia mean we can access information on
almost anything, quickly and easily.

The potential is clear, but does the virtual
world offer equal access and equal opportunity
for all? The answer is, unfortunately,
“not yet” and for two main reasons.

First, while rates of Internet usage have
skyrocketed – increasing according to Internet
World Stats by more than 380% since2000 to include over a quarter of the global
population in 2009 (some 1.7 billion people)
– there are many for whom its promise
is still a dream.

Second, among those who have on-line access,
there are millions who cannot fully take
advantage of all that the web has to offer
simply because web design inhibits their
access.

Optimal web design meets the evolving
needs (physical and technical), preferences
and circumstances of a wide range of users.
All too often, however, web developers
inadvertently create barriers for those living
with disabilities inhibiting access to text, images,
forms and sound.

In an interview, Artur Ortega, a software
engineer for Yahoo! who is blind, said the
main problems arise because “of a lack of
knowledge or inexperience. Many web developers
are not exposed to someone with
disabilities and aren’t aware of how they use
the web to access information”. Mr. Ortega
believes “a huge difference can be made
with very little effort”.

Web accessibility seeks to tear down these
access barriers and to correct web design
problems so that people with disabilities
can perceive, understand, navigate, interact
with and contribute to the web.

Guidelines and resources, such as those
developed by the Worldwide Web Consortium’s
(W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative
(WAI), are widely available and increasingly
influencing web design.

The United Nations (UN) and its specialized
agencies host a rich source of interesting
and relevant content, including text, images,
video and audio clips. To help ensure that
the system’s web developers are aware of and up to speed on best practices for web
accessibility, WIPO teamed up with the ITU
and world-renowned experts from Adobe,
the Mobile Web Initiative, The Royal National
Institute for the Blind and the W3CWAI
and Yahoo, in early February to host
a four-day web accessibility workshop. The event brought together 180 web specialists
from 33 UN and other international
organizations.

The workshop included technical training
sessions which focused on different aspects
of accessibility (PDFs, Flash, accessibility
tests and the application of W3C guidelines,
etc.). In an endeavour to fuel the growing
enthusiasm for accessibility in the UN system,
WIPO is hosting a wiki – http://www.wipo.int/wiki/accessibility/ – to encourage
exchange of information and ideas. While
each organization has different approaches
to accessibility, poor understanding, inadequate
training and resources are common
problems.

In opening the Joint Workshop, WIPO
Director General Francis Gurry reaffirmed
the Organization’s commitment to
establishing an accessible web environment
that promotes easy access to intellectual
property information. This, he said, was in
line with WIPO’s visually impaired persons
(VIP) initiative (www.visionip.org) which
is exploring ways to enhance access to
copyright-protected works for the VIP
community.

Recognizing the needs of the VIP community
in the digital era and the barriers to
access that can sometimes arise from the
operation of copyright protection systems,
WIPO and its 184 member States are reviewing
the question of how to maintain a
balance between the protection available to
copyright owners, and the needs of specific
user groups, such as VIPs. More than 314
million blind or visually impaired people
around the world stand to benefit from a
more flexible copyright regime adapted to
the technological realities of today.

Noting that some 650 million people worldwide
live with disabilities, ITU Secretary-
General Hamadoun Touré said, “The key
to the information society is universal access
and no one should be denied the potential
benefits of information and communications
technologies (ICTs)”,” Dr. Touré
added, “ICTs have the great merit of serving
as a powerful equalizer of abilities, empowering
persons with disabilities to fulfill their
potential, ... and take their place as active
members of society.”

The Director of ITU’s Standardization Bureau,
Malcolm Johnson, highlighted the
potential of ICTs in improving accessibility
for persons with disabilities. He noted that
ITU has “long championed the principles of
inclusion and universal design”.

The promotion of web accessibility for UNhosted
websites was given added impetus
by the entry into force in 2008 of the UN
Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities. The Convention requires that
steps be taken to ensure that accessibility informs
the design of new ICTs and systems.

For Artur Ortega, this really is good news.
A self-confessed accessibility evangelist, he
takes every opportunity to spread the “web
accessibility” message. It has made a huge
difference to his life. “I can do things on-line
that would require assistance in the off-line
world,” he said, “I can read a newspaper
and bank on-line on my own because I have
software that reads text from the screen.
I can shop on-line and have it delivered
to my door. Web accessibility really does
make a huge difference. It means that I can
be independent and don’t have to rely on
other people to help me”.

But web accessibility is not just of relevance
to the blind. It can make a significant difference
for anyone living with visual, audio,
physical, cognitive and neurological disabilities.
These might range from a mild condition,
such as color blindness, (problematic
if a website states that all products marked
in red are on sale and you are unable to
identify this color) to more serious physical
or motor disabilities.

Mr. Ortega spoke of someone he knew
who, paralyzed after a swimming accident,
is only able to move his head. Web accessibility
technologies mean that he can read
the books of his choice and turn the pages
simply by moving his eyes. The importance
of opportunities such technologies offer
cannot be underestimated. They can enable
people with disabilities to make independent
choices and to actively participate and
contribute to society.

One thing is clear, given the growing
importance of the web today, if people
with disabilities are to have equal access
to the web and equal opportunity in using
it to actively participate in and contribute
to society, and if we are all to be enriched
by their innovative and creative potential, a
focus on web accessibility is not an option,
but a “must”.